Batman #13: Bad Seeds, Decent Tie-In

Batman #13 opens without a recap for the events of Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset #1, instead, the beginning of issue #13 is a brief 2-page scene that grounds the story in Batman’s priority: saving lives. (Good thing we cleared that up! – ed.) Batman quickly works to save the life of a random Gothamite and departs as soon as he’s done so.

From that point on, the issue is one continuous train of action scenes moving from floor to floor in the Gotham City Police HQ in Oldtown as Batman ascends towards a confrontation with Commissioner Vandal Savage. There is very little dialogue beyond the ambient ramblings of the GCPD, as the story relies almost entirely on its artwork moving forward.

Matteo Scalera’s line art is a precise mess of raining bullets, well-timed bat-themed gadgets, and vigilante fury. Panels are placed in a ladder descending towards the next page showing moment-to-moment action as Batman flings himself from tone target to the next. Slowly that panel layout is broken into staggered pieces as the action gets more claustrophobic, such as a darkly lit staircase dominated by the towering “Big Boy” of the GCPD being rapturously cheered on by the rest of the GCPD-lined stairwell.

Tomeu Morey’s blending of shades and use of consistent lightning is wildly impressive in an issue with so much movement. The colors help maintain the gritty tone of the issue, almost taking the place of dialogue as the story transitions from the brightly lit offices of the GCPD to its dark and grimy stairwell.